Research Article
The Determination of Exposure to Total, Inhalable and Respirable Particles in Welders in Benin City, Edo State
Ediagbonya TF1,*, Tobin AE2, Olumayede EG3, Okungbwa GE4 and Iyekowa O5 | |
1Department of Chemical Science, Ondo State Science &Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria | |
2Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo state, Nigeria | |
3Department of Chemistry, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria | |
4Department of Radiography and Radiological Sciences, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria | |
5Department of Chemistry, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria | |
Corresponding Author : | Ediagbonya TF Department of Chemical Science, Ondo State Science &Technology Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria Tel: +2348-0690-665-77 E-mail: [email protected] |
Received: June 11, 2015; Accepted: January 08, 2016; Published: January 14, 2016 | |
Citation: Ediagbonya TF, Tobin AE, Olumayede EG, Okungbwa GE, Iyekowa O (2016) The Determination of Exposure to Total, Inhalable and Respirable Particles in Welders in Benin City, Edo State. J Pollut Eff Cont 4:152. doi:10.4172/2375- 4397.1000152 | |
Copyright: © 2016 Ediagbonya TF, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Abstract
In many welding processes, air pollutants are generated and take the form of dust, fume and gases. These particles generally remain suspended in air and in that way can be carried long distances from the welding arc. Plethora of studies have suggested that welding is insidious to the male reproductive system, other pernicious effect includes the development of benign pneumoconiosis, siderosis, respiratory impairment, headache, nausea, shortness of breath, muscle pain and a metallic taste in the mouth. The objectives of this study was to determine the personal exposure to total, inhalable and respirable particulate matter among welder in Benin City, subject the data to statistical analysis and compare the values obtained to the regulatory limits. The particles were captured using SKC Air Check Gravimetric Sampler. The sampling was done three times a week for six months between October 2011 to March 2012. The result showed that there was spatial variation in the measured TSP, respirable and Inhalable PM and also that the measured particulate matters were above the threshold Limit Value (TLV) in most of the locations studied except for welders in Oluku and Agbor which their TSP, Respirable and Inhalable are below this limit.